Friends and Performers Remember Tenor Jerry Hadley through Music

A concert tribute to the late tenor Jerry Hadley, featuring international opera artists and friends Elizabeth Futral, Frederica von Stade , Richard Leech, Thomas Hampson, Samuel Ramey, and other special guests will be presented on Friday, January 25, 2008 , in the Foellinger Great Hall of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. in Urbana , Illinois.

The concert is a joint production of the University of Illinois School of Music, Hadley's alma mater, and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, where the singer made his debut in the UI Opera production of Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1974. An exhibit covering the tenor's 32-year career will also be on display in the center lobby the evening of the concert.

Tune in to 98.7 WFMT Chicago to hear the performance on January 25th, or listen to the live stream at www.WFMT.com. The broadcast will begin at 7 p.m. with a special feature on Hadley, and the live concert follows at 7:30 p.m.

Conceived by Jerold Siena, professor of voice, and co-directed by Jerold Siena and Eduardo Diazmuñoz, the January 25th evening will include songs and arias, ranging from musical theater to Verdi; Maestro Eduardo Diazmuñoz, director of the UI Opera Program, will conduct. The culmination of the concert celebration of the singer's life in music will be a joint performance by the UI Chamber Choir, Oratorio Choir, and Concert Choir , directed by Fred Stoltzfus; the UI Symphony Orchestra, and special guest artists in a grand finale presentation of “Let Our Garden Grow” from Bernstein's Candide .

“It is a fitting tribute to the life and career of Jerry Hadley that so many of the world's most famous singers will join us here at the University of Illinois where Jerry sang as a student several of the roles that made him famous,” Siena said in an interview in November. “Hadley was one of our own and truly one of the finest singing actors on the operatic stage. This concert will be a tribute to his artistry in both sight and sound.”

photo by Christian Steiner

photo courtesy of U of I School of Music

photo by Tony Romano

Tickets to the Jerry Hadley Memorial Concert are free and are available through the Krannert Center Box Office beginning at 10 a.m. on January 4, 2008 (limit of four tickets, per patron, per day).

Special thanks to the Jerry Hadley Memorial Committee: Jerold Siena (chair), Eric Dalheim, Eduardo Diazmuñoz, Suzanne Hassler, Ronald Hedlund, Karl Kramer, Thomas Schleis, and Michael Ross. Memorial gifts in Jerry's name may be sent to the University of Illinois Foundation , P.O. Box 3429 , Champaign , Illinois , 61826-3429 . Checks should be made out to UIF/School of Music. In the memo line enter “Jerry Hadley Memorial Fund.” For additional information on giving, contact Marlah Bonner-McDuffie, at (217) 244-4119.